Hello to all. First of all a HUGE THANK YOU! to all of you. I have been spying on this forum for a while. I have read lots of advice and finally purchased a spindle with some roving. I am excited to say that I have spun what came with my spindle and am ready for more!!!!!!

My question is this.... I am looking on ebay at some beautiful rovings. They are colored nicely and seem to be pretty inexpensive. They are Corriedale and about an ounce each. If I get a bundle of colors (like 7) what would be the best way to spin it. Do I spin a little of each color all together (or would that end up looking like puke?) Or do you spin each one separately and then work them up together in the project (I don't have any idea what the project would be at this point.) And possibly most importantly, how do I (a complete newbie at this) know that the wool is good for spinning instead of felting? (Here is the lady I am looking at right now --link As long as I order "roving" should I be safe as far as how it is processed and ready to spin?

I just bought a spinning kit last week at Paradise Fibers and I'm hooked. I just went back today and bought more fiber and a better spindle. I asked for some roving that was easy to spin and was referred to the corriedale. I have spun a little of it today and find it easier to get a smooth draft going compared to the fiber that came in the kit. I was also told the corriedale was very reasonably priced ($21 a lb). It sells for $1.79 an ounce.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--Margaret Mead

As for the multiple colors of Corriedale, you can do whatever you want with them. You can spin a short length of red, then a length of blue, then a length of green and get a variegated yarn. You can spin each color separately and ply two of them together for a barberpole effect. You can spin a long length of each and splice them together for Noro-like stripes. You can hold a small chunk of one color and a small chunk of another in your hand and spin them together to get a softer color. At that price, you can have fun and experiment. That's the beauty of spinning: you can make the yarn YOU want. I haven't bought from that eBay source, but the roving they are selling looks okay for spinning (the reason they mention felting is that the quantities are small). But if you're unsure, just email them before you buy. They sound like a nice group.

Thank you. That was exactly what I was not sure of. The possiblities are just about to big for me to get a grasp on!

Plantgoddess-- How is your spinning going? I think I am going to get at least one other nice-ish spindle. So much fun.

I'm having fun with it so far. I like the new spindle much better and I like spinning top whorl more than bottom whorl. I tried plying some of the singles and my 2 ply is about dk weight. This is not the best time of year to take this up for me as I spend so much time outdoors gardening, but I had the spare money and thought I better do it now before I spend it on something else.
I find the corriedale easier to get even feed than the roving that came in the kit. I still am working on consistency and haven't made anything I'm completely happy with. I have to admit it does look better after washing and thwacking. I'm going to go to the library and get some books on spinning as I have little clue what I'm doing.
Your first skein looks great. I don't think mine is that good yet.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--Margaret Mead